Celebrating my birthday

Last year for my birthday, I gathered together a group and we went to a hamburger place in Arezzo. (For those of you who don’t live in Italy, going to a hamburger place (that is good) is a real treat) That was fun, but I knew we could also have fun sitting under the stars and olives right outside our door.

So I patched together some tables, got Richard to string up the lights, managed to find a night that most everyone could attend (except Grace who ran off to the beach for a month) and pried Ben out of his cave so we all enjoyed a nice meal outside. Fortunately by the time the cake was served it was dark. I had to cook everything else before I had enough room in the fridge to put the frosted cake. So after much boiling of potatoes and pasta and…. it was a little warm in the kitchen. No other choice, last thing, frost the cake. Made the wonderful, fudgy frosting, started smearing it on and watched it slide right off. It was just too warm. The cake ended up with a nice thick collar of frosting between the plate and the bottom layer and a little bit on the sides. It was good anyway.

Our neighbor, Ida and her two boys joined us. The boys played ‘beach volley’ while waiting for dinner.

The stars of the evening were ‘the other Ben’ and his lovely partner Joanne who managed the grill and hustling food in and out.

Of course, wise, sage, old men (ha ha Keith) had to give grilling advice.